DO YOU NEED A TRIUMPHAL ENTRY?
Matthew 21:1-11
Sermon Objective: The journey into Jerusalem was an overture of deliverance. It begins in obscurity and ends in victory. Jesus can do the same for you, us, and our world today!
MATTHEW 21:1-11
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
INTRO:
When I lived in the Chicago area I had the chance to attend a few Chicago Bulls basketball games. This was in the late 80’s and 90’s and Michael Jordan was in his prime. I still remember how they began each of these games. The arena would go dark and silent and then there would be loud music (I can still here the tune played), laser lights would sweep across the arena and then they would introduce the team. You know who the last one introduced was right? It was Michael. And it was done with louder music, a louder announcer and a raucous crowd! You could not help but get caught up in the emotion of the event.
Well, Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem had no laser light show and no articulate announcer introducing him but it did create quite a stir among the common folk. I would have been easy to get caught up in the emotion of the moment. No doubt, many did.
And, in contrast to M.J. who was just a good basketball player, Jesus was a genuine hero to the people! He taught them as no one else did.
• He loved them even though they could not buy his love
• He spent time with them – something the blue bloods of Judaism or Rome never did
• He set them free from disease
• He pardoned them from sin and washed away the guilt
No wonder there was a parade!
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was not a self-congratulatory road show – it was to finalize the liberation and love he had shown these people. They had no idea what would happen in the next week or how costly his love for them was going to be; but Jesus knew, and still, he went to Jerusalem!
Jesus entry to Jerusalem stood in contrast to the pomp and circumstance that often accompanied such a parade. You may remember a couple of years ago I told you about a “counter parade” that was certain to take place the very same week that Jesus entered the city. While Jesus was coming into Jerusalem from the east Pontius Pilate was entering (every year before Passover) from the west.
His parade came with a huge army and a lot of intimidation and power.
Not so, Jesus. Jesus’ entry was strikingly different – and strikingly more effective.
Jesus came to Jerusalem as:
1. A SUFFERING SERVANT AMIDST COMFORT AND DISINTEREST
The suffering servant motif of Isaiah is at the very heart of the ministry of Jesus. It strikes the deepest and most common need of every human life – the need for a savior to take away our sin. Palm Sunday is first and foremost Jesus providing himself as a lamb – a “guilt offering.”
Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Jesus knew what lay before Him but “set his face towards Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51, KJV) as a sacrificial lamb for you.
Jesus was compelled by justice. Seeking, at his own cost and peril, to provide everyone what they need and offer righteousness (right-ness) to a world that desperately needed it.
Jesus came to Jerusalem as:
1. A SUFFERING SERVANT AMIDST COMFORT AND DISINTEREST
2. AN OVERTURE OF LOVE IN A CONTEXT OF HATE
Jesus said (Luke 4:18-19) “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
A year or so ago Kim Damon wrote a reflection on Psalm 53 that accentuates the love of Jesus.
A Moment of Reflection From Isaiah 53 (edited for brevity with permission)
By Kim Damon
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him...
I paused and couldn’t walk by.
All time stopped, all else in life disappeared,
It was just you and the eternity of creative, redeeming, rescuing, protective, compelling, love.
Then I realized it was you who stopped my motion … You were not on your way somewhere else, you had been waiting, watching, calling.
Surely you took up my infirmities, and carried my sorrows. You were pierced for my transgressions, and crushed for my iniquities,
I was unable,
You accomplished, what I could not.
I was a failure,
But you qualified me.
You were punished to bring me peace,
You were wounded that I might be healed.
I was lost like a sheep, and had gone astray.
Yet, you like a lamb were silent and led to slaughter.
By this oppression and judgment,
I was set free.
You have made me righteous and justified many
You poured out your life,
To give me life.
The reality of this love, is clearly seen, as I look at you.
I worship you my Champion and King
Jesus came to Jerusalem as:
1. A SUFFERING SERVANT AMIDST COMFORT AND DISINTEREST
2. AN OFFERING OF LOVE IN A CONTEXT OF HATE
3. THE EMBODIMENT OF STABILITY IN A VOID OF CHAOS.
Jerusalem was chaotic at best and dangerous at worst. It was a powder keg waiting to explode. Jesus’ arrival was the antithesis of this chaos. He comes on a colt in humility offering a new understanding of life.
The plan of God has always been “shalom”: a world of harmony and peace under the blessings and direction of its creator. Yet humankind has a unique way of taking any setting and making it anything but peace-full.
Chances are that your world – your existence even today – is threatened by unrest. Even today there are “compartments” of your life that you desire to see transformed by “The Prince of Peace.”
Jesus’ offers Himself to you today. He offers His life and his lifestyle as an alternative to the chaos and posturing that surrounds you. Seek His face.
Jesus came to Jerusalem as:
1. A SUFFERING SERVANT AMIDST COMFORT AND DISINTEREST
2. AN OFFERING OF LOVE IN A CONTEXT OF HATE
3. THE EMBODIMENT OF STABILITY IN A VOID OF CHAOS.
4. AN OASIS OF CHARACTER IN A DESERT OF CORRUPTION.
Philippians 2:6-9
6 Who, being in very nature God,did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
Everyone who was anyone in Jerusalem was compromising their values to get ahead. Even the religious leaders were auctioning off their influence and sacrificing the people for prestige and additional power.
But Jesus, knowing what lay before him, chose to enter the city and give himself for the deliverance of humankind.
Rather than work in the obscure shadows he offered light and truth to anyone who would hear Him.
Rather than shady deals and backroom bargaining Jesus stood before a mob and a Roman court and declared He was the King of the Jews (Matthew 27:11).
He, and the church that follows Him, operates from different principles than the world.
• We seek to serve not be served.
• We love not expecting rewards or for love to be reciprocated.
• We give not expecting anything in return.
• We turn the other cheek and love our enemy.
These, my friends are not signs of weakness but of strength. They are evidence of Christian character. They are all exemplified in the Triumphal Entry and they are all transferrable principles to the lives of those who follow The Nazarene.
Wrap-Up
Jesus came to Jerusalem as:
1. A SUFFERING SERVANT AMIDST COMFORT AND DISINTEREST
2. AN OFFERING OF LOVE IN A CONTEXT OF HATE
3. THE EMBODIMENT OF STABILITY IN A VOID OF CHAOS.
4. AN OASIS OF CHARACTER IN A DESERT OF CORRUPTION.
“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you …’” (Matthew 21:5)
So tell me, DO YOU NEED A TRIUMPHAL ENTRY? What exactly is your need today? The humble King awaits the opportunity to reveal Himself to you.
In Hebrews 4:14-16 we read:
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Do you need forgives for sin and cleansing from guilt? Jesus can do that.
Do you need someone to come alongside and provide solace in times of despair and suffering? Jesus can do that.
Do you need wisdom and direction in the midst of the hysteria that is “life”? Jesus can do that.
Do you need strength of character? Jesus can do that.
Do you need acceptance and love? Jesus can do that.
Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
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This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene, Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
